"The most important goal in my life is to have some significant impact in preserving and expanding the realm of personal freedom in the life of this country.” Richard D. Obenshain

Put Your Time (or Money) Where Your Mouth Is

I’ve heard a number of people say that we have to elect Bob McDonnell as Governor and we have to retain the House of Delegates. Of course we do, but my question to you is, what are you prepared to do about it? Do? Well, they answer back; I’m planning to vote for them. Now don’t get me wrong, voting is a critical component to any candidate’s success. But, if you really cared, shouldn’t you be doing more?

Some activists donate their money. Funding is one of the two most important means of support of campaigns. Want to donate to Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, Senator Ken Cuccinelli, Delegate Matt Lohr, or any of the other candidates? My advice is to head over to RedStormPAC and donate today. But what is RedStorm? According to their website, “RedStormPAC is an independent political action committee (PAC) whose mission is to support conservative candidates with an avenue for small dollar donations, organized by committed conservative activists who want to help fellow conservatives utilize the ‘long tail’ of online fundraising.” In addition, “100% of every contribution is passed directly to the candidate or organization. You donate $100, the candidate will get $100 and RedStormPAC processes the transaction at-cost to itself.” Simplicity itself. As we don’t have much time left, every dollar could make the difference.

Assuming you have already done so (or you don’t have the funds to donate), we arrive at the second campaign lifeblood, volunteering. Personally, I’ve been volunteering since high school. The reasons for volunteering varies: you have a personal connection with the candidate, you want to advance your political ideology, you expect some sort of quid-pro-quo advancement, or you’re helping out a friend or relative who is engaged for one of the other three reasons. Whatever your reason for getting involved, the most important thing is to go out there and relentlessly advance your candidate and his or her principles.

Campaigns never have sufficient money or volunteers but an increase in one can offset a lack of the other. Additional funding can be used to hire additional staff to promote the ground game or deliver extra ads to the voters. More volunteers offer a low cost method to perform vital campaign functions: phone banking, door-to-door, mass mailings, usually for a handful of pizzas. So, the take-home message is to get involved whether through donations or volunteerism, or both. Although voting is very important, if you truly care, it is not enough. With less than 30 days until election, now is the time to open your checkbook. Stop by the campaign headquarters of your local delegate or the RPV and put in some quality hours. Although it is poor grammar, don’t you think you should put your time (or money) where your mouth is?